The blood-drenched K-drama sees 456 desperate civilians enter a battle royale-style game, in which they have to quite literally fight to the death in order to win a whopping cash prize of 45.6 billion South Korean won.
Based on traditional Korean children’s games, the contest whittles down the players until only two are left, and includes everything from physical tasks to puzzles—which in themselves have sparked plenty of TikTok recreations (minus the violence, of course).
Naturally, given the premise of the show, there are many unexpected twists and turns that leave viewers on the edge of their seats; from the shocking revelation about old man Il-nam, to the real identity of the game’s masked Front Man.
As such, the internet has been ablaze with theories, reactions and memes. Here are 19 of the best ones so far…
Literally everyone
Thought those outfits looked familiar…
Seriously though
We see no lie
But also, this:
There can only be one winner
Shout-out to Twitter during this difficult time
Do. Not. Move.
Victory dance
We were not prepared
We repeat:
R Patz, is that you?
We did not see this coming
Or this
Well that was intense
Q: What does it mean?
A: No one knows, but it’s provocative
Since making its debut on the streaming platform on September 17, the ground-breaking show has garnered an international fan base and is slated to overtake the likes of Bridgerton (82 million), Lupin (76 million) and The Witcher (76 million) as the service’s most watched series.
In just 10 days of its release, it snatched the number 1 spot in the charts across 90 countries, and has clung onto prime position for several weeks.
As of September 29, 95 percent of Squid Game viewers were from outside of Korea.
Speaking about the gripping premise of the show, director Hwang Dong-hyuk explained to Dong-A Ilbo that it highlights the “irony of the capitalist society we all live in, which was created to allow us all to eat well and live well.”
He added that instead it “destroys the essence and humanity of human beings.”
While it has not yet been confirmed that a second season is in the works, it is highly likely given its success that the show will be renewed by Netflix.
Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix now.
